Policing A Multicultural Society: A Case for State, Local & Community Policing in Nigeria

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VIII, Issue VIII, August 2021 | ISSN 2321–2705

Policing A Multicultural Society: A Case for State, Local & Community Policing in Nigeria

Dr Ganiyu L. EJALONIBU¹, Ibe C. EZECHI², Dr Muhammad OSOLAFIA³, Livinus A. NANDI⁴, & Lucky A. TONGSI^5
1,3,4&5Department of Democratic Studies (DDS), National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, National Assembly, Abuja, Nigeria
²Department of Economic Development and Social Studies (EDSS), National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, National Assembly, Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract: Nigeria, a multicultural society and a federal state, practices a highly centralized policing system. Over time, this system has not been effective in curbing the incessant security conundrum in the country. Thus, the nation is currently facing several internal security problems and with the inability of the central police command to contain the challenges. So, as a result of the surge in the rate of highly sophisticated crimes in the country, the adoption of state, local and community policing is day-by-day gaining popularity. As such, the major focus of this paper is on the imperatives of state, local and community policing in multicultural Nigerian society. Relying on comparative method and using the lessons learned from cross-country experiences of some other federal democracies, the paper advocates for the establishment of state, local and community policing as one of the lasting measures to curbing the recurring crimes in Nigeria. This finding showed that by fostering a sense of partnership it is possible to achieve significant impacts in terms of promoting an understanding of cultural diversity among police officers, and overcoming issues which in the past have prevented ethnic minority groups from accessing police services.
Keywords: Multicultural Society, Policing, State Police, Local Police and Community Police
I. INTRODUCTION
Policing as an item in the Exclusive Legislative List that has continued to receive lots of criticisms. In that, over centralization has made the deployment of the police to rapidly address crimes and criminality ineffectual considering the vastness of the Nigerian space and its attendant challenges of diversity occasioned by the large number of ethnic, cultural and religious groups that comprise the country (Egunjobi, 2016). The Nigerian Police (NP) is designated by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction consisting of 37 State Commands (including the FCT) grouped into 12 zones and 7 administrative organs throughout the country (The Nigeria police force, n.d.). As outlined in Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is a federal police force; state and local governments are not permitted to establish their own police forces (Immigration and refugee Board of Canada, 2008).

This incongruity is worsened by the fact that many police personnel, who are recruited and deployed to places other than

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